The Unemployed Millennial

I published this post last week on LinkedIn, after an intense job hunt over the last few months. I don’t want it to seem like I’m complaining about the unfair treatment of millennials in the job market, but I’m not going to lie, it is very frustrating. Even if you’re not an unemployed millennial, you can probably still relate to this post. They think we have it easy, but millennial life isn’t as easy as it seems.

Misunderstood

There is a huge misconception that the unemployed millennial is inexperienced, entitled, and just plain lazy. I cannot speak for everyone in my generation, but from my personal, educational, and professional experiences with my peers, I know that millennials are quite the opposite. We may not have years of experience, but we are eager to learn. We weren’t babies when the recession hit, so we are well aware that opportunities aren’t going to be handed to us. We know that we are going to have to work hard for the things we want. The purpose of this post is not to complain, but I want to help non-millennials understand the millennial mindset.

Entry-level

What does “entry-level” mean to the unemployed millennial? When we see this short phrase on job postings it immediately sparks our interest. We click on the posting only to get our hearts broken after we see that 3-5 years of related work experience is required. We were thinking more along the lines of 0-2 years of experience. We are looking for positions that will be willing to train us and mold our sponge-like minds.

Internships

Millennials have no major issues with internships, even if an internship is unpaid it still gives us an opportunity to gain real world experience with a safety net and it may even set us on the right career path. The issue with internships comes from the fact that some internships are now requiring prior internship experience. This is absolutely mind boggling! Why do I need internship experience to get an internship? Although this doesn’t make much sense to me, I understand that there may be hundreds of other millennials out there vying for the same opportunity, so my work experience needs to be competitive. If a second internship will set me on the right career path, I’ll take it.

What We Want!

As an unemployed millennial, who has worked temp job after temp job, I know the job hunt struggle all too well. I have worked jobs I’ve hated, jobs I’ve loved, and jobs I wish I had never applied for. I know I am not alone in this situation. There are millennials out there who are not ready for a long-term position, but there are a good bit of us out there who are ready for that type of commitment. We want job security, real opportunities for upward mobility, and pay that will allow us to live an independent life and pay off of student loans. We are willing to relocate and leave our families and everything we’ve ever known for the right position. Of course we will make mistakes; unfortunately school doesn’t teach us everything we need to know for an actual career. We may not be extensively skilled, but please understand that we bring more to the table than social media skills. We want and need you (employers) to take a chance on us and teach us, because we are willing to learn.

Reblogged this on Let's Get Write To It and commented:
I told myself, when I decided to start blogging, that I’d dedicate a post to my struggles as an unemployed college graduate. In addition to getting the frustrations off my chest, I wanted to direct the post to people in my position and let them know they’re not alone in the world of job searching. When I came across this post, the title grabbed my attention immediately, I was thrilled. I finished reading with a smile on my face because the article was everything that I wanted my article to be, but with less ranting. Needless to say I reblogged this post not just because I loved it, but because it was well written and spoke to me and other “unemployed millennials.”

Read and enjoy this post, check out more of Crystal’s material.

Lastly, don’t forget to share your thoughts. Are you an unemployed millennial? Know someone who is? Have you experienced these struggles.

Thank you so much for sharing my post! I wrote it right after my boss told me he no longer needed my services “effective immediately.” I was already looking for a job, but the situation really pushed me back into this crazy and confusing job market. I’m really glad that you could relate to what I wrote. It means a lot to me that you would take the time to read it and share it. I wish you the best of luck in your job search! I can’t wait to read your material!

So many people are going through this situation. Many people believe that the Masters Degree helps well its been a year and it hasn’t helped with my job search. But I know I have a great purpose and I wont stop until I fulfill it. Thanks for being so candid, at least I know I’m not alone.

Thank you so much for reading the post! You are definitely not alone in this situation. I’m glad that there are people out there, like you, who truly understand this struggle. It’s really hard and I don’t think a lot of people understand. We just have to keep the faith and pray, and know that our struggle will not be in vain.

This is so great! I hope you can manage to visit my blog on Monday 10:30am (South African Time), I will have a similar post up discussion facts about millennials in the workplace 🙂 it’s hard out here for millennials

Love this post! Sheds so much light on the current employment crisis in America and for Millennials. Still learning the ins-n-outs of wordpress but would love to share this post! Will be following for sure 🙂